Strong business position as Canada's third-largest bank Robust and consistent profitability record Stronger asset quality metrics than those of global peers operating in similar economic risk regions Good diversification by line of business and geography Growing exposure to unsecured consumer lending, representing incremental increase in risk appetite Risk associated with expanding investments in emerging markets, although somewhat compensated with higher margins Higher dependence on wholesale funding than domestic peers S&P Global Ratings' outlook on The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) is stable, reflecting its view that the likelihood of the ratings moving up or down within the next two years is less than one-third. We could lower our ratings on BNS if we were to see several periods of substantial
